Small Village!

Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan entered the old woman's home, only to discover that her family was not doing well.

The house had a simple layout: one bedroom, one main room, and one kitchen-dining room. The furnishings in the main room were sparse but very clean. Aside from a table, chairs, and a cabinet, there was only an old pendulum clock.

"Grandma, what's your surname? Do you live here alone?" Jiang Nannan asked the old woman while Zhu Ziyang looked around the room.

"My surname is Yang. I also have a little granddaughter, but she's asleep," the old woman answered as she went to the cabinet and began searching for something.

"What about your son and daughter-in-law? Aren't they home?" Jiang Nannan asked instinctively.

"My son died, and my daughter-in-law followed him," the old woman said flatly, as though she were speaking of something insignificant.

"Ah!" Jiang Nannan's expression immediately turned apologetic. "I'm sorry, Grandma."

"It's all right. This old woman has gotten used to it," the old woman said. There was not a trace of emotion on her aged face; she seemed like a piece of wood.

"Grandma, what is this village called? It doesn't look like there are many people here," Zhu Ziyang asked, changing the subject.

"You may not know this, guests, but our village is called Zhangyang Village. It is under the rule of Viscount Nuoding of Hetian Town," the old woman answered calmly. "The villagers have all moved elsewhere."

"They moved elsewhere?" Jiang Nannan tilted her head in confusion. "Why did they move away?"

"If they didn't, the children wouldn't be able to awaken their martial souls." At last, some emotion entered the old woman's voice—helplessness tangled with pain, struggle, and despair.

"Why?" Jiang Nannan did not understand. "Doesn't Falan City have a Soul Master Association?"

"The Soul Master Association charges fifty Gold Soul Coins to awaken a martial soul." The old woman remained silent, while Zhu Ziyang answered Jiang Nannan's question. A thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

He had more to say, but Jiang Nannan was not foolish and had already understood. Fifty Gold Soul Coins might have been a lifetime's savings for a family in such a small village.

The Soul Master Association was an organization established by the empires after Spirit Hall's destruction, taking over all matters related to soul masters, including martial soul awakenings. Over ten thousand years, the Soul Master Associations in various places had fallen under the control of local nobles. For ordinary people, this was undoubtedly bad news. There were likely countless small villages like Zhangyang Village within the Three Great Empires.

"That is exactly right," the old woman agreed after a moment of silence. "When the old viscount was still alive, he bestowed grace every year and sent Lord Soul Masters to every village to awaken the children's martial souls for free. But now, I haven't seen a soul master from the viscount's estate in more than ten years."

"These days, any family that wants to awaken a martial soul without selling themselves to the viscount's estate has moved away. The ones left in the village are old folks who can no longer walk far, along with children who failed to awaken martial souls. What are we supposed to do..." The old woman rambled on as if a floodgate had opened, then abruptly stopped. "This old woman has been too long-winded. Please forgive me, guests."

"..." Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan both fell silent.

He understood that this was the true portrait of an ordinary person's life in this era.

In this age, martial soul awakenings were controlled by imperial nobles. If commoners wished to awaken their martial souls, they either had to pay fifty Gold Soul Coins to the Soul Master Association and have one of its soul masters perform the awakening—every city in the empire had a Soul Master Association—or sell themselves to a noble estate and become servants, since every noble would awaken the martial souls of their own servants.

Apart from those two methods, some high-level soul masters traveling the continent would occasionally show kindness and help awaken the martial souls of children in the villages they passed through.

Nobles like Hong Zhen, the City Lord of Anyang City, were still exceedingly rare.

This was an era of rigid class divisions. The only path forward for common-born children had been blocked completely, with only one or two remaining cracks—and even then, some people could not reach them.

Zhu Ziyang suddenly wanted to cry. Sorrow welled up in his heart, yet he did not know where it came from.

The old woman found a key in the cabinet, then walked toward the locked bedroom. In a low voice, she said, "Guests, you may rest in this room tonight."

"All right. Thank you for the trouble," Zhu Ziyang said. His face was expressionless, but his gaze was unusually deep, as though he were thinking about something.

"Guests, please come in." The old woman opened the bedroom door, carried an oil lamp inside, and beckoned the two of them in.

The two followed her into the bedroom and found it decorated festively. Scarlet bed curtains hung from the scarlet bed, and a double-happiness character was pasted onto the dressing cabinet beside it.

The sight made Jiang Nannan's pretty face flush slightly.

"This was my son's wedding room. They only stayed here for one night and never returned," the old woman said to herself as she lit a red candle. "Please make do with it, guests."

"All right, thank you." Zhu Ziyang did not refuse. Though he had a compassionate heart, he would not put on false kindness because of it.

"This old woman won't disturb your rest any longer," the old woman said. Her attitude remained distant and reverent throughout; clearly, she had realized Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan's identities.

"Good night, Grandma," Jiang Nannan said instinctively.

The old woman left the room, not forgetting to close the door behind her.

"Let's rest. We have to get up early and continue our journey tomorrow," Zhu Ziyang said.

"Mhm!" Jiang Nannan nodded. She folded up the bedding on the bed and set it aside, then took out the bedding they had brought from their luggage and spread it out.

The two slept fully clothed.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning.

When Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan stepped out of the room, they found that the old woman was already up.

A timid little girl of four or five stood beside her, secretly studying Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan.

"Grandma, you're up so early!" Jiang Nannan greeted her with a smile. Then she looked at the little girl and waved. "She's your granddaughter, right? She's so cute!"

"I'm old, so I don't sleep deeply," the old woman answered. When Jiang Nannan mentioned her granddaughter, a loving expression appeared on her face. Looking at the little girl beside her, she said, "Yes. Nannan, greet the guests."

"Hello," the little girl called out timidly.

Jiang Nannan was a little surprised. She bent down and stroked the little girl's head with a smile. "Your name is Nannan? It's the same as your big sister's. My name is Nannan too."

"Really?!" the little girl cried in delight, looking at Jiang Nannan with a little more closeness in her eyes.

"Guests..." The old woman hesitated.

"Grandma, is there something you need our help with?" Zhu Ziyang noticed her hesitant expression and spoke up.

"This..." The old woman hesitated. A hint of expectation appeared on her aged face as she asked, "You two are soul masters, aren't you?"

"That's right." Zhu Ziyang nodded. He had already vaguely guessed what she was about to say.

"Wonderful, wonderful!" the old woman said repeatedly. Her aged face was full of pleading as she looked at Zhu Ziyang. "May this old woman ask you for a favor? If you pass by here again in the future, could you help awaken my poor little granddaughter's martial soul?"

The old woman's request was exactly what Zhu Ziyang had expected, and he fell silent.

Seeing this, the old woman grew anxious, but she did not dare raise her voice for fear of angering Zhu Ziyang. She could only plead even more humbly, "This child lost her parents when she was only one year old. This old woman is already close to the grave too, and who knows when I'll be gone. She's still so young. When I'm gone, if she has a martial soul, she might at least have a chance to survive..."

"All right, Grandma. You don't need to say any more." Zhu Ziyang interrupted her, his expression calm.

The old woman was terrified. Her face turned white as paper. She thought her words had angered Zhu Ziyang, and her trembling lips could not form another word.

Yet Zhu Ziyang's next words immediately made her face flush red.

"I promise you, Grandma," Zhu Ziyang said. His expression remained calm, but a strange radiance flickered in his eyes. As someone born a commoner himself, he felt that he needed to do something.

"This, this..." The old woman was beside herself with joy. Her body trembled as she tried to kneel before Zhu Ziyang, but Jiang Nannan stopped her in time.

"Grandma, I can promise you this: at this time next year, I will definitely return. When the time comes, you can have the other children in the village who are old enough come as well. I'll help them awaken their martial souls too," Zhu Ziyang said.

"Mhm! Mhm! Thank you! Thank you!" The old woman was incredibly excited. Though Zhu Ziyang had only spoken a few casual words, they were their only hope!

Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan left Zhangyang Village with somewhat heavy hearts.